29 March 2018

A grandson of Rabbi Aharon Leib Shteinman zt”l said, “When I served [my grandfather] food, he would … ask if I wanted to eat…. I often told him that I am a baal taavah and the food he ate would not be sufficient for me…. He would sigh and comment, ‘Eating is for me like fasting for you.’” (Quoted in Yated Ne’eman, 29 Adar)

I remember reading that Rabbi Shteinman’s minhag was to soak two pieces of bread in milk, one of which he would eat for breakfast and one for dinner. A Rosh Yeshiva once said that Rabbi Aharon Leib ate the same in two weeks as other people ate in one day, and that he learned more Torah in one day than other people would learn in two weeks. Very few people attain this madreiga, but nevertheless we can learn from him a great principle relevant to Pesach.

I have often wondered: what does eliminating chometz have to do with Yetzias Mitzraim?

On the level of droshe, chometz is understood to represent the Yetzer Hara, but I want to ask a basic question: what does cleaning the house have to do with liberation from Golus? In Mitzraim we had no time to bake bread, but this became an eternal principle. Can’t we leave Golus without eliminating chometz?

Apparently not!

I believe it is correct to say that leaving Mitzraim is the most central element of Pesach. This dramatic event is basic to our history. All of Sefer Beraishis leads up to this moment. The beginning of Sefer Shemos is focused on the journey from Mitzraim to Har Sinai, and the entire remaining Chumash is concerned with what we learned at Har Sinai and its effect on the rest of Jewish and world history. Our liberation from Mitzraim is the fulcrum upon which swings the history of the world. All future events, especially the Geula Shelemah – may we see it soon in our days! – will reflect its details and implications.

The weeks before Pesach are spent on an exhaustive cleansing of our homes. The object is to remove every crumb of chometz. In Europe one would see furniture on the street as the interior of the house was turned upside down. What does this have to do with leaving Mitzraim?

A further question: why do we nullify the chometz after we have already eliminated it? Apparently, the physical cleaning of the house is not sufficient; we must also accept mentally that we do not own chometz. (See Mishna Berurah 431:2)

Why both?

There is a fascinating commentary in the Rav Pam Haggadah (English translation, Feldheim Publishers) concerning the obligation to mention Yetzias Mitzraim (in the Shema) during the night as well the day. Rav Pam explains, in the name of the Shaagas Aryeh as well as Rav Eizel Charif, that these are two separate mitzvos, reflecting two types of miracle, “nes niglah” (a revealed miracle) and “nes nistar” (a hidden miracle).

Rav Pam quotes Chazal, who say that “there were two distinct parts of Yetzias Mitzraim.” At night the geulah was not yet evident, because Am Yisroel had not actually left Mitzraim. The nes was thus evident only to those with emunah. This was a nes nistar, a hidden miracle. But during the day, the Geulah was evident to all; this was the “nes niglah.” The dual nature of Yetzias Mitzraim is reflected in the way we end Krias Shemah. At night we end with the words “emes v’emunah,” because the Geula was hidden, while, during the day, we end with “emes v’yatziv,” because the Geulah was “certain” and clear to the entire world at that time. (Berachos 9a)

My friends, we have to clean the chometz from our homes because the very nature of Golus is slavery to crumbs, to leaven, to food that expands in our minds as well as our stomach, and becomes the entire focus of our existence. The nations that surround us are enslaved within the borders of chometz. Their entire knowledge is bounded by this world. All their desire is directed toward enjoying the fruits of this world. They do not comprehend that the True World has no corporeal aspect whatsoever.

In order for us to be liberated from Mitzraim and all the other idol-worshipping nations, we have to know that we are trapped by chometz. It is not enough to clear the physical chometz out of our home; we have to clear the desire for chometz out of our heart.

It is hard work! There is no substitute for all the physical and spiritual labor which preceded Yetzias Mitzraimand which will precede the Geulah Shelemah. But just the way Pesach came to our ancestors in Mitzraimso the Geulah Shelemah will come to us.

I am going to mention once again a beautiful moshul. The few drops of wine we remove from the kos when we mention the Esser Makkos at the Seder are keneged Yetzias Mitzraim. But the entire contents of the koswhich remain after we have removed the drops is keneged the Geulah Shelemah!(See Be’er Miriam; Artscroll Interlinear Haggadah)

Can you imagine this! Can one comprehend the magnitude of what is about to happen soon, b’ezras Hashem! No wonder the Geulah Shelemah is taking so long! It is so massive that the entire world will be overturned just the way our homes are overturned before Pesach!

This is the physical elimination of chometz. The nullification must take place in our hearts and minds. We have to be prepared to give up our attachment to Golus. If the desire to serve Hashem fills our hearts, then we will not fear anything, and we will hasten the day on which the world will be “filled with the knowledge of G-d as the sea fills the ocean bed.” (Yeshiah 11:9)

EVERY YEAR WHEN we celebrate Pesach and follow the Haggadah, we arrive at the part of the story where we are reminded once again that “every Jew has to regard himself as if he TOO left Egypt.” AS IF, and only AS IF, because clearly we have all been born thousands of years AFTER it has occurred.

Why the need? It’s obvious. Yetzias Mitzrayim happened long ago. Intellectually we know it is why we are here as a people. Had we NOT left Egypt, we would have probably been Egyptians instead. We would have either died out from slavery or assimilated completely into our host culture. When Moshe Rabbeinu showed up to save the day, we were at the 49th level of spiritual impurity, teetering at the edge of spiritual oblivion.

But who can now relate to that? How many heartstrings does the story of leaving Egypt pull, and in how many people? There are Americans who can trace their family lines back to the pilgrims who first settled America. Do they even know? Do they even care? The Thanksgiving Day celebration today is a LOT different than it once was. It is the same for the Jews who recall the exodus from Egypt.

The Haggadah says no. The Haggadah says, not only does it not have to be, but it SHOULD not be. “Sippur Yetzias Mitzrayim” has to be an EMOTIONAL experience as well as an INTELLECTUAL one. If the Seder is only a mind experience, it will remain only on the level of commemoration of events passed. If it becomes an emotional one, then it becomes a celebration of events currently taking place.

We have help. The Jewish year is cyclical. We may move forward in time, but we also revisit experiences and energies that run all through time and which tie us to events in the past and those which have yet to occur. It’s a timeless spiritual pipeline, and if we tap into it, then we can transcend the moment and literally make ourselves feel as if we too are leaving Egypt.

We do it all the time, usually unwittingly. Someone will say something or something will happen that will trigger a memory of ours. Next thing we know, without going anywhere physically we find that we have left the moment mentally, emotionally. We start to see people from a past moment and even begin to feel what we felt back then. It will become our reality until something snaps us out of our trance and we return once again to the here-and-now.

But that’s only true when we already had the experience once before. It only happens when we have a memory to trigger. None of us actually left Egypt with Moshe Rabbeinu. None of us have an ACTUAL memory of Yetzias Mitzrayim to recall. If we regress our memories, we can’t go back THAT far. That leaves us, once again, at “as if,” but not actually.

Yes, and no. We are making an assumption that though it is logical, it is not actually correct. We are assuming that history has moved on since we first left Egypt. Yes, all that has happened since then is built upon Yetzias Mitzrayim, but not actually a part of it. That is not true.

The navi, when talking about a future redemption made the following connection to the first one:

“As in the days of your exodus from the land of Egypt, I will show him wonders.” (Michah 7:15)

The Ramchal and GR”A explained as follows:

Both the redemption from Egypt and the future redemption come from the same source, as it says, “As in the days of your exodus from the land of Egypt, I will show him wonders” (Michah 7:15). (Ramchal, Otzros Ramchal, p. 45)

Yetzias Mitzrayim was the beginning of all redemptions, and it will be likewise in the future. (GR”A, Shir HaShirim 2:8)

Though at first this just sounds like a simple comparison to what once happened, it is not. The first thing to recall is that we were supposed to have remained in Egypt for 400 years. That was the prophecy of the “Bris Bein HaBesarim” given Avraham Avinu. Even though it did not mention Egypt specifically, historically that is what it was and, Kabbalistically, that is what it had to be.

Therefore, we left 190 years early. And, we left with UNFINISHED business. We also left behind four-fifths of our nation, losing them in the Plague of Darkness. And we took the Erev Rav with us. That alone has plagued us until this very day. The battle against the Erev Rav, the GR”A warned, will be the last and worst of all.

We seem quite prepared to let bygones be bygones. As far as we’re concerned, Yetzias Mitzrayim was a chapter in our history that was closed once the Jewish people left Egypt. We assume that anything that was supposed to happen within 400 years happened instead within the 210 years. After all, God DID increase the slavery before the first plague began, seemingly rectifying in six months what was supposed to have been fixed over the next 190 years.

Wishful thinking. It turns out that all was NOT forgiven.Whatever was accomplished over the 18 months since Moshe Rabbeinu first demanded the release of the Jewish people only made it possible for them to leave Egypt at that time. It did not complete the entire mission described to Avraham Avinu during the prophecy of the Bris Ben HaBesarim. The Jewish people had just not been spiritually up to the task. THAT would take the REST of Jewish history to accomplish.

Here’s the point. Yetzias Mitzrayim did not end back in 2448, or 1313 BCE. It only began then. It is a work that has been in progress ever since then, and one that won’t finish until the Final Redemption. Purim, Chanukah, and any other redemption the Jewish people have experienced since the first one from Egypt just added to what had been thus far accomplished.

This is why the other name for the Final Redemption is “Keitz HaYomim,” the “End-of-Days.” Literally, it is the end of THOSE days. THOSE days? Which days? The one’s left uncompleted back in Egypt? How many of THOSE days are left to complete? “Keitz,” which has the gematria of 190. Then the Jewish people will finally go out “as in the days of your exodus from the land of Egypt.”

After all, more than “Mitzrayim” is a place, it is a concept. The name “Mitzrayim” is comprised of two parts: Mem-Tzaddi-Raish, which spells “meitzer,” or “boundary.” The last two letters, Yud-Mem, have the gematria of 50, alluding to the “Nun Sha’arei Binah,” the “Fifty Gates of Understanding” through which Divine light flows unto the world.

Though “Mitzrayim” the place was Egypt, “Mitzrayim” the concept is ANY place that spiritually restricts the “Nun Sha’arei Binah.” It is any place in the world that is not conducive to building a relationship with God, and the revealing His light to the world.

Today, “Mitzrayim” could even be the FIFTY—Yud-Mem—bordered—meitzer—states of America. It could be the entire Western world, which also includes secular Israel, which is becoming LESS spiritually conducive with each passing day. Leaving THIS “Mitzrayim” may be the biggest “Yetzias Mitzrayim” of ALL history.

It goes even deeper, AND more literal. The Arizal revealed the true nature of the souls of the Jewish people at the end of history, just in advance of Keitz HaYomim:

There is not a single generation in which Moshe Rabbeinu, is not found, b'sod, “The sun rises and the sun sets” (Koheles 1:5), [and] “One generation goes and another comes” (Koheles 1:4), in order to rectify [each] generation. The Generation of the Desert itself with the Mixed Multitude will also reincarnate in the final generation, “like in the days of leaving Egypt” (Michah 7:15). (Sha'ar HaGilgulim, Ch. 20)

We don’t think about reincarnation too often. Why should we? We really have no way of knowing with any certainty who we were in previous lifetimes. It’s a fascinating topic, for some, able to provide insight into parts of Jewish history, thanks to the Arizal. But, without a prophet, how can we know when and how we previously lived?

That is true on a personal level. However, the Arizal is saying that it is possible to know something about the “nature” of the souls of the final generation of the Jewish people. That may not have interested previous generations, but it should catch OUR attention since, by now, it should be clear that there is a VERY good chance that we ARE that “Final Generation.” After thousands of years of history, this probably applies SPECIFICALLY to us.

The question is, what does it mean to have the souls of the Jews who left Egypt? One thing is for certain, when the Haggadah tells us to look at ourselves as if we too left Egypt, it is not only talking about role playing. It is saying to us, “Even though your bodies have been towards the end of history, your souls are from the beginning of Jewish history.” And ultimately, it is the SOUL that drives the person, not the body.

Ultimately it means that we are here, not to complete what THEY left unfinished, but what WE left unfinished. The separation we feel from our ancestors doesn’t really exist. It is between our CURRENT selves and our EARLIER selves. It is our SECRET identity, so secret that most of us aren’t even aware of it, maintaining a mental distance from the past that is real only in time, but not in mission.

The Seder becomes the opportunity to literally break through the barrier of time. History moves linearly forward but the Jewish people move cyclically, allowing us to revisit the PAST again in the FUTURE. We return to ourselves each time in order to pick up where we left off and complete both our personal tikunim and national tikun.

We’re still in exile, after all this time because we have not taken the words of the Haggadah seriously enough. So close to the end of history and part of the “Final Generation,” it is high time that we did. Because, whether we’re ready or not, “Exodus, Phase 2,” is upon us.

One young man, whose parents thought him wicked and simple, turned out to be truly wise and changed the course of history.

by Rabbi Benjamin Blech

Let me tell it to you by way of an incredible true story of one boy whose life was filled with tragic difficulties. As an infant, he was abandoned by his mother. At the age of seven his father sent him away to a boarding school where his teachers called him the worst student in his class by far. The reports his parents regularly received from the Dean of the school said, “Your son seems incapable of learning anything.”

As punishment for his “stupidity” he was frequently beaten by his teachers. When it came time for him to attend a high school, a task made all the more difficult by virtue of his extremely poor grades, his father wouldn’t give him permission to go to the school he himself chose because he was certain that his son would only embarrass him there. Thankfully he was accepted to a military school, but his father wrote to him of his great discontent and called him “an impudent little idiot”.

When the boy wrote to his father to share with him his progress, the answer came back with words that might be expected to destroy his self-confidence for the rest of his life: “You are a constant disappointment to me. Not only are you a complete failure in everything that you do, but I see nothing ahead for you but failure. Please do not write to me anymore. I do not wish to hear from you ever again.”

He is the only man who was ever nominated for two Nobel Prizes at the same time, one for literature and one for peace.

And who was this young man, the son whose own parents thought him wicked and simple and not knowledgeable enough even to ask a question?

He was Winston Churchill, featured in the movie “The Darkest Hour” as the hero and one of the greatest leaders of the 20th century – the man who rallied the people of England to fight a war against Nazi Germany and whose speeches electrified and inspired a nation to preserve Western civilization.
In addition to being a courageous leader and an extraordinary orator, Winston Churchill was also a talented painter and a great historian. Of his many achievements, he is the only man who was ever nominated for two Nobel Prizes at the same time, one for literature and one for peace.

Who could have predicted that this son with an abusive father, a disinterested mother, insulting teachers, and ego-destroying deans and principals would turn out to be the wise son of the Haggadah?
Perhaps the Haggadah is teaching us that not only that every one of our children deserves an honored place at the Seder table, but more significantly, that we never truly know the potential within every child. As we recite the names of each of the four children, we preface their identity with the same word in Hebrew: “Echad – one.” One is wise, one is wicked, one is simple, and one is unable even to ask – because the Haggadah is emphasizing that these four different character types may in fact characterize one and the same person at different times. These are all one child at different stages of his or her development.

None of us are all wise or all wicked, all simple or all insufficiently knowledgeable to ask the right questions. We are an amalgam of traits, a fascinating combination of types. By understanding the various selves of our own being, by acknowledging our multi-faceted nature, we can have more compassion for others. We can have greater empathy for our children as they go through phases, some of which try our patience and others which give us a totally false impression of our offspring’s’ failings without awareness of their unique abilities and talents.

The great blessing of life is change. People grow and develop. They mature and become transformed. And sometimes people don’t actually change; you just never knew who they really were in the first place.

The “four sons” can really be “echad” – one and the same child, a child who at times can drive us crazy with apparent faults, but other times proud beyond words because of achievements.
So that’s why on Passover night “the Torah speaks of four sons,” reminding us to love, even when the four character types are all joined into one person.

And most important of all, to make sure that all of our children, no matter which “son” we think they are at the time, are welcomed and share in the family togetherness of the Seder table.

27 March 2018

According to the Washington Examiner, a building network of backwoods doomsday camps around the country are pulling in members from affluent areas and even Washington national security officials as the threats grow from nuclear war, an EMP (electromagnetic pulse), or virus attack. Dubbed Fortitude Ranch, the outposts promise protection and a year’s supply of food for those unable to build their own bunker with preparations for a SHTF scenario. What’s more, until a crisis strikes, the doomsday camps are being used for prepper training and vacations.

One of Fortitude Ranch’s members from the Baltimore area said that he and others joined after “waking up” to the potential of a national crisis from an attack, financial meltdown, or political violence. “For most of us, something rattled our cages and woke us up,” he said.

Red hot planet is NOW!!!! being spotted reported as creepy and getting redder and bigger 3/23/2018

26 March 2018

Turkish *Newspaper Close To President Erdogan Calls To Form Joint Islamic Army To Fight Israel

On December 12, 2017, ahead of the summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul, the Turkish daily Yeni Şafak, which is close to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his ruling AKP party, published an article titled "A Call for Urgent Action,"[1] which also appeared on the paper's website under the title “What If an Army of Islam Was Formed against Israel?"[2] The article called on the 57 member states of the OIC to form a joint "Army of Islam" to besiege and attack the state of Israel. It notes that such a joint army will greatly exceed the Israeli army in manpower, equipment and budget, and presents statistics to prove this. It also advocates establishing joint bases for the army's ground, air and naval forces that will arrive from all over the Muslim world to besiege Israel, while noting that Pakistan, as the only nuclear country, has "a special status" among the OIC countries. An interactive map provides information on military forces stationed in various locations and the role they can play in the potential joint Muslim attack on Israel.

The compound, which is located entirely in Area C, under full Israeli control, and located between Jerusalem's Ramot neighborhood and the Givat Ze'ev suburb' is considered sacred by both Jews and Muslims.

The site has been informally divided between the two, with a functioning mosque on the premises and a space designated for Jewish prayer next to the tomb itself. In addition, Muslims have in the past been permitted access to the site used for Jewish prayer around the tomb when it is not in use by Jewish worshippers, and individual visitors have been permitted even at prayer time.

In recent months, however, groups of Muslim pilgrims visiting from overseas have begun disrupting Jewish prayer services at the site on a regular basis, entering the compound as a group, with a guide loudly talking over the Jewish worshippers, before leading the Muslim pilgrims in their own prayers.

Father in heaven, King of the Kings of the Holy One, blessed be He, leads this world and rules this world. there are none but Him! There is no one to tell him what to do and no one can tell him what to do and disturb this world. Ended and ended, the end of all impurity and evil in the world came. The evil, the impurity, the hatred, lies, and deceit - are over and gone from this world. Gradually entering a new world of free love and all of us adhering to the sovereignty of the world directly, pure and holy. Mashiach and Temple - this is the new direction. The Land of Israel, the Holy Land, is very precious to the Holy One, blessed be He. The Holy One, blessed be He, tries in every way to feel sorry for every Jew in order to be in the first circle.

There are Jews in this world who fight for honor, and honor belongs only to God. No Jew in this world should seek honor, for honor belongs only to the Holy One, blessed be He. We will be humble, honest and truthful, the honor - only to the Holy One, blessed be He, everything begins and ends from Him.

Every Jew in this world has a destiny. Ministers, members of Knesset, doctors, policemen, judges, military men, rabbis, mayors, each has a role to play, a mission that the Holy One, blessed be He, has given him. If a Jew does not do, does not act, and does not fulfill his mission with integrity and truth, he falls into great trouble, because he seeks honor. Honor - only of the Holy One, blessed be He. He is honor and He is everything.

All the good that is in the people of Israel and all the gifts that the people of Israel have, everything is given to them by the Holy One, blessed be He. The Holy One, blessed be He, says to you: 'Give me tithes and tzedakah - I will multiply every shekel for you, and weigh more and more'. Do not look for respect because honor will escape from you, do not seek respect because honor will bring you down. ' Your honor is not yours, honor belongs only to the Holy One, blessed be He, there is no one but Him.

The Israeli government must stop harassing each other, and stop speaking loshon hora about each other. The more loshon hora and bad things speak about a person who has not yet been tried, a person who is innocent from heaven increases his protection, protects him endlessly, and he also rises and strengthens. This is the way of the Creator. There is nothing to boast about, everyone are workers for the Holy One, Blessed is He. A Jew can not be proud of "I did and did ..." Only the Holy One, blessed be He, does, gives and helps.

Soldiers, policemen and uniformed security personnel - you are the target of all kinds of gentiles who want to hurt Jews. Being alert and suspicious of everything, not believing anyone. Always 'be very careful for your soul' so that you will not have any surprises.

Especially in East Jerusalem. Jews and Arabs with blue identity cards are sent to harm IDF soldiers and policemen, they have bad thoughts, they are drugged, they are mentally ill, their goal is to hurt Jews, especially people in uniform.

Hamas wants to be proud as a peacock, swell with feathers, boasts. All the soldiers and the weapons he has, they put everything in a garbage can.

The IDF is discovering the tunnels and it is necessary to invest great efforts in discovering more and more tunnels.

Abu Mazen and Hamas are fighting for the inheritance, for the money. El-Arish, Rafah, Khan Yunis, Gaza - will eat each other, including the Sinai desert. There will be a world war between them. Let them come in their hearts! Let them come in their hearts! Let their hearts be broken, and their bow shall break!

Gog and Magog, and chaos – outside the borders of the Land of Israel. The people of Israel will believe in the Holy One, blessed be He, that they will place their trust in the Holy One, Blessed is He, and will only be good to them.

Syria - Destruction. Everyone wants to enter Syria and take a piece of land. The United States wants a slice, Russia wants a slice, and no one cares about the peace in Syria, they are all fighting to take parts and control Syria, their sword will come in their hearts and their bow will be broken, the Syrians, the rebels, the Hizbullah and the Turks.

Nasrallah and Hezbollah are not enthusiastic about fighting because they have a lot of old weapons, a tarantula, an antique, which is suitable for the year 1982. It has no effective weapon of 2018. Every shipment of arms and ammunition from Iran does not reach Hezbollah and Nasrallah.

In Iran, the people want to overthrow the regime. They need to know how to gather in a huge amount, not a small one. Do not worry, there will be a revolution in Iran. 99% of the people love peace and love, Europe and Israel. Only a handful of people in power go crazy in their heads and want to build opaque factories.

Turkey, Erdogan - his day is near. Many citizens suffer and want to make a revolution.

Turkey and Iran, to demonstrate in millions of people and not in the thousands.

Egypt, Sisi fought in the desert of Sinai in Da'esh, Hamas, and radical Muslims in order not to reach Egypt, because Da'esh wanted to blow up the Aswan Dam. Sissi drives them away so they will not interfere in the elections. In Egypt they are hungry for bread. Sisi is smart and intelligent, he has a tongue of beautiful speech. Because he is smart and intelligent, he listens to the State of Israel.

Whoever opposes the State of Israel, the President or the State, the Holy One, blessed be He, will harm them severely, confuse them and give them the most severe blows in the world. A president, country or state who wish to help the Jews in the Land of Israel - will be blessed by the A-lmighty and will have only good.

Trump, God chose him. Trump is the most powerful, the smartest, loves the Jews in the Land of Israel, helps the Jews in the land of Israel and the Holy One, blessed be He, will pay him twice as much as ever.

Jordan, Israel protects it. The Holy One, blessed be He, says to Jordan: 'You will not receive any piece of land from the Land of Israel - this is finished, and the end!’

In Europe, the United States, and other countries there is a very harsh anti-Semitism, once Jews were attacked secretly, and today the Jews are being openly attacked and the Holy One, Blessed be He, tells the Jews: 'I ask you to flee and come to live in the holy land of Israel. All the Jews. "The Muslim refugees control two-thirds of Europe, and two thirds of Europe speak Arabic.

The whole world knows that the Holy One, blessed be He, loves the Land of Israel and the Jews who live in the Land of Israel, so they are jealous, just as the Holy One, blessed be He, loved Abel, and Cain killed him. The Holy One, blessed be He, loves the people of Israel and no one can harm them. Israel is the most expensive in the world, it is the world's best, the best in the world, and it illuminates and revives the entire world - thanks to the Jews who are in the Holy Land.

Anyone who wants to disturb the land of Israel, Europe, the European Union, the Arab states, Kuwait, Qatar and Iran - the Holy One, Blessed be He - will confuse them, quarrel between them and have disasters.

North Korea, South Korea and China all came down from the tree. They did bring a ladder, but they got off the tree. Let everyone return to his country and all the atomic bombs will become flour.

Jews - assimilation, drugs, gambling and drinking - are forbidden. It's too bad for your health, it's a pity to get sick and suffer for nothing. The Holy One, Blessed is He, did not tell any Jew to do evil.

The rabbis of Israel accept visions, do not digest, it is difficult for them to understand. Boruch HaShem (they) began to examine, to speak and to be interested, and the Holy One, blessed be He, will give them confidence and courage to speak.

The sea is not calm, noisy and noisy. There are upheavals in the weather, heat here and cold there, fires, ice and snow. Earth is crying, the earth is in anger, earthquakes, winds rising and falling, because the end has come, and the end is that the earth will also stop suffering.

Everything that happens in the world, all the complications of conflicts, human errors, animals and beasts, the elements of nature, the spirit of man who once was nervous, once in agony, once lived well - all these complications before the coming of the Mashiach. Before the arrival of Moshiach there are all the most severe disturbances.

Rachel Imeinu and Leah Imeinu connected with the lower Mashiach. King David is responsible every morning and morning to awaken the King of Moshiach and help him in his mission to help the people of Israel. Baba Sali with all the righteous in Heaven, praying that the Creator of the universe will announce King Mashiach in public. There is a crown, there is a scepter, there is a mantle and there is a beautiful cover, there is humility and beautiful things. There is blue and purple and great joy and everything is open to the public! The whole world will be subject to the word of Mashiach.

Anyone who opposes and mocks will cost him dearly. Suddenly the day will come, it is in this generation and very close to the reign of King Mashiach in mercy! Jews to complete repentance, to turn from bitter to sweet, from bad to good, from stealing to doing kindness, from stinginess to doing kindness. Charity, charity, and tithes - this is free love.

We celebrate the Passover holiday in Israel and in heaven we celebrate it with the people of Israel. Passover will be glorious! We look forward to good things and await the Holy One, Blessed be He, who will announce the King Mashiach in public!

24 March 2018

NO ONE CAN deny that we are living in “special” times. There is so much going on that could easily have MAJOR significance, positively AND negatively. The first part of this book started that conversation and pointed out many such details.The question is, are we living in THE special time? Are we at the end of history? Is Moshiach about to reveal himself and, finally, to do what “we” have been waiting for him to do now for thousands of years? In Egypt, Messianic times lasted 79 years before they finally ended in departure from Egyptian slavery. How many years will OUR Messianic times last before they end the utopian world of Yemos HaMoshiach?Until now there have been many “possibilities.” Dates that were actually predicted for Moshiach’s arrival by those who could have known such things have, in the end, come and gone. They may have resulted in something to do with the Final Redemption with redemption-like things occurring at that time. But, they have not resulted in the Final Redemption itself. Now it is 5778, 2018 in Western terms. We’re definitely one year closer to the “end” than we were last year. But are we AT the end? Is there anything to indicate that this might be THE special year, a year in the scheme of things that says, “No matter where the Jewish people are holding, Moshiach must come!”Who knows for sure? Yet, the following facts are, at the very least, very interesting. They don’t PROVE anything—yet. But they do indicate a certain specialness about 5778 that, we may LATER find out, were signs of BIG things to come, REDEMPTION-like things.I. GOLUS EDOMThe last of the four exiles is Golus Edom. When Ya’akov Avinu had his dream about the four exiles, he was only told the length of the first three: Bavel (52 years), Media (18 years), and Yavan (180 years). Golus Edom, or the “Roman Exile” was left open-ended. Ya’akov never saw the Angel of Edom descend the ladder like the previous three angels.When did Golus Edom even start? Officially, it seems to have begun when Pompey conquered Jerusa-lem in 63 BCE, or 3698. That is when Israel became an official vassal state of the Roman Empire, and Jews were taken from their homeland to other parts of the Roman Empire. The Jewish people would not regain control of their land again until 1948, 2,010 years later when the UN officially sanctioned the establishment of a Jewish State and homeland. Ten years prior to 1948, or 2,000 years from the start of the Roman Exile, was 1938—the year of “Kristallnacht,” a pogrom against Jews throughout Nazi Germany by SA paramilitary forces and German civilians. The name comes from the shards of broken glass that littered the streets after the windows of Jewish-owned stores, buildings, and synagogues were smashed.It wasn’t just a pogrom, however. Kristallnacht was the beginning of something bigger:Kristallnacht changed the nature of the persecution from economic, political, and social to physical with beatings, incarceration, and murder; the event is often referred to as the beginning of the Holocaust. In the words of historian Max Rein in 1988, "Kristallnacht came...and everything was changed.” While November 1938 predated the overt articulation of the “Final Solution,” it foreshadowed the genocide to come. Around the time of Kristallnacht, the SS newspaper Das Schwarze Korps called for a “destruction by swords and flames.” At a conference on the day after the pogrom, Hermann Göring said: “The Jewish problem will reach its solution if, in anytime soon, we will be drawn into war beyond our border—then it is obvious that we will have to manage a final account with the Jews.” (Kristallnacht, Wikipedia)This part was obvious. The part that was NOT obvious was the more historical event it signaled. For all intents-and-purposes, the Holocaust brought about the end of the “European Exile,” which was really just the extension of the Roman Exile. It had been the Romans who had exiled Jews from Eretz Yisroel to different parts of Europe, and though the names of the kingdoms of Europe have changed many times over the millennia, the locations of the Jews rarely did. Exactly 2,000 years since the Romans began their exile of the Jewish people, the Nazis, who viewed themselves as the third “Roman Empire,” began to end it, and the fourth and final exile of the Jewish people.II. NEW JEWISH STATEIt is said that “Eretz Yisroel was built upon the ashes of the Holocaust.” This is true for a number of reasons which, collectively, explain why it took TEN years (never an insignificant number) for the Jewish people to go from Kristallnacht to being an officially accepted nation by the rest of the world. To begin with, though some emigrated from Europe to Eretz Yisroel prior to World War II, the vast majority of European Jews were content to remain where they were. They had put up with anti-Semitism and the pogroms until then, and had built up communities where they were. The status quo reigned, especially since America had yet to be a major draw for them. The Holocaust changed all of that.Secondly, though the Balfour Declaration of 1917 gave the Jewish people the right to a “homeland,” it did not give them the right of statehood. There were too many other political forces with which to contend, and the British were wary of rocking the Arab boat. It was the Holocaust that compelled leaders like President Truman to give the survivors of the worst genocide ever a country of their own.The Holocaust also shook the Jewish people out of their complacency. Until that time there was little sense of having to build up the Jewish people. The Torah world had strong centers of learning, and the rest of the Jewish world was content pursuing its own course of “Jewish” life.However, the quick loss of half the nation meant having to pour a lot of energy and resources into the rebuilding of the nation. The Holocaust reiterated in very strong terms what many Jews had always known: the safest place for a Jew is in their own country. III: SEVENTY YEARSAs had been foretold to Ya’akov Avinu, the Babylonian-Median Exile lasted 70 years in total. According to Rashi, it was the number of Shmittah years the Jewish people had violated. Perhaps, but the number 70 is specifically associated with the concept of redemption:So says Hashem: After 70 years of Bavel are completed, I will remember you and fulfill My good word concerning you, to return you to this place. (Yirmiyahu 29:10)

I, Daniel, pondered in the books the number of years of the word of God that came to Yirmiyahu the prophet regarding the completion of the destruction of Yerushalayim: 70 years. (Daniel 9:2)

After 52 years, the gematria of “Eliyahu,” Koresh allowed the Jews to return to Eretz Yisroel to begin reconstructing the Temple. Eighteen years later, the miracle of Purim occurred, and the Jewish people were free to return to Eretz Yisroel, completing the redemption that had begun in Koresh’s time.The story of Haman is told in 70 verses. He also only ruled for 70 days. In 5708, the Jewish State was reborn. Fifty-two years later was 5760, 2000 CE, a year predicted to be one of redemption, including by the Vilna Gaon. It was the year of the “Millennium Bug,” otherwise known as, “Y2K,” which in Hebrew is Yud-Bais-Kuf, the word “Yabok.” That is the name of the river Ya’akov Avinu crossed in advance of his battle with the Angel of Eisav, which symbolized Golus Edom. “Yabok” is also the gematria of three names of God, and therefore represents the spiritual completion of a person. When a person rectifies his three lower levels of soul—Nefesh, Ruach, and Neshamah—they gain access to the levels of light associated with these three Names of God.It is now 5778, 18 years later. Is the completion of the first level of redemption that occurred back in 5760, when because of the potential problems of Y2K even the mainstream media began talking about Armageddon and the arrival of Moshiach, set to occur this Pesach?

Rabbi Yehoshua says: “In Nisan, the world was created . . . in Nisan, they were redeemed, and in Nisan they will be redeemed in the future.” (Rosh Hashanah 10b)

Even the names “Gog and Magog,” the perpetrators of the final war of history and threshold to the Messianic Era, has a gematria of 70. Historically there are really only 70 nations, each with its own ministering angel, PLUS the Jewish people. All other nations have descended from one of the 70 Biblical nations.According to Kabbalah, 70 represents the concept of “Da’as Elohim,” which is Torah knowledge:Anyone who becomes settled through wine has the da’as of his Creator . . . the da’as of the Seventy Elders . . . (Eiruvin 65a)There are 70 facets to Torah. (Zohar, Bereishis 36)Furthermore, it also says:God, Who has 70 Names, gave the Torah, which has 70 names, to Yisroel, who has 70 names which originated from the 70 souls that went down to Egypt with Ya’akov, and which was chosen from among 70 nations, to celebrate 70 holy days in the year—52 days of Shabbos and 18 days of Yom Tov, including Chol HaMoed—the Torah was transmitted to 70 elders. (Midrash Yelamdaynu)Since the month of Nisan is the Rosh Hashanah of months, the Shabbos before Rosh Chodesh Nisan would be the 52nd, and Shemini Atzeres would have been the 18th “Yom Tov.” It just adds another redemption element to the year 2018.The Final Redemption is also spoken about in terms of da’as:After [the War of Gog and Magog], The Holy One, Blessed is He, will take His revenge against them, as spoken about in Yechezkel, and the Jewish people will dwell in their land in security and with much good. DA’AS—Godly knowledge—will greatly increase, as will wisdom and purity. (Drushei Olam HaTohu, Chelek 2, Drush 4, Anaf 12, Siman 9)The number 70 also seems to represent the end of a cycle at which time a certain Divine purging takes place:

Rebi Chanina said: Once every 60 or 70 years, The Holy One, Blessed is He, brings calamity to the world to destroy the mamzerim . . . (Yerushalmi, Yevamos 49b)

As it is known, the period in advance of Moshiach’s arrival is called “Chevlei Moshiach,” or the “Birth Pangs of Moshiach.” The rabbis compared the arrival of Moshiach to the birth of a baby, which is usually preceded by painful contractions. So too is the “birth” of Moshiach, if the Jewish people do not merit a merciful and miraculous redemption, preceded by difficult times for the Jewish people. The comparison is more profound than this. Kabbalah explains that the entire build-up to and arrival of Moshiach is like a birth. Redemption is a function of Divine light that must be spiritually “conceived” and then “born” before it can be actualized.For example, the light necessary to free the Jewish people from Egyptian slavery was “conceived” the night of the first Seder. The light was not “born” until seven days later when the Jewish people miraculously crossed the sea. The crossing itself was a physical gesture that was part of the spiritual birth of the light that made total freedom possible.IV. THE SECOND TEMPLEThe Second Temple was built in 350 BCE and stood for 420 years, before being destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE, or 3830. If 3,830 is subtracted from the current year, 5778, 1948 remains. That was the year in which Avraham Avinu was born, which began the destiny of the Jewish nation.This means that the amount of time from Creation until the destruction of the Second Temple, 3,830 years, is the same amount of time from the birth of Avraham Avinu until the current year, 5778. It may mean nothing, or it may mean everything.The Midrash compares the birth of Avraham Avinu to the creation of the original light on the first day of Creation, the “Ohr HaGanuz.” It was this light that the Temple was supposed to radiate to the rest of the world, and which was lost when the Temple was destroyed. Even though the Second Temple did not reach the status of the First Temple, since it was missing key elements like the Aron HaKodesh, it was still the Temple. This concept still remained true, as the Talmud reports:Herod [revealed himself and] said: “I am Herod. Had I known that the rabbis were so careful with their words, I would not have killed them. Now tell me what I can do as an amends.”

[Bava ben Buta] answered: “As you have extinguished the light of the world [by killing so many Torah leaders] . . . go and attend to the light of the world [that is, the Temple, of which] it is written, ‘And all the nations become enlightened by it’ (Ye-shayahu 2:2).” (Bava Basra 4a)

If this is true about the Second Temple then it was certainly true about the first one, which was destroyed in 423 BCE, 429 years earlier. However, the destruction of that Temple by Nebuchadnetzar only signaled the beginning of Golus Bavel, which ended with the story of Purim. It was the destruction of the SECOND Temple that concretized Golus Edom—the Roman Exile. Furthermore, it occurred just 20 years prior to the end of one of the most important periods of history, the “2,000 Years of Torah.” The first 2,000 years are called by the Talmud the “2,000 Years of Tohu,” because the world was Torah-less until that time. Therefore, history during that period is compared to the null and void that preceded Creation.At the age of 52, Avraham Avinu began educating the world about God. That happened in the year 2000, and it began what the Talmud calls the “2,000 Years of Torah.” The highpoint of that period was the actual giving of Torah at Mt. Sinai to the Jewish people in 2448, or 1313 BCE, which also started a 1,000-year period of prophecy that ended in 3448, or 313 BCE. Another 552 years later, the period came to an end at 4000, or 240 CE.This began the LAST of three periods of 2,000 years, called “2,000 Years of Moshiach.” As the name indicates, it is the time period during which Moshiach MUST come. The more time passes, the more this is the case. This year, 5778, is 1,778 years into this period of time which began just after the destruction of the Second Temple and the end of a 3,830-year period of time stretching back to Creation. Will the events of 5778 also signal the end of 3,830-year period stretching back to the birth of Avraham Avinu? Will it be the beginning of a whole new era, and will its threshold be the final War of Gog and Magog? It is hard to know and even harder to predict correctly. But, this certainly gives us reason to go into Pesach with eyes wide open. If the Seder teaches anything, it is the importance of preparation when it comes to redemption.

23 March 2018

Before we became observant, life was like a carousel. We rode round and round. When the music stopped, we got off … at the same place we had started. But when you live a Torah life – lehavdil! – you go somewhere. If you desire to fulfill Hashem’s will, He will draw you closer to the Kisai Hakavod.

One of life’s most difficult challenges is …. time!

I find that – except on Shabbos – I am continually fighting time.

Time pressure competes with one’s ability to concentrate on the present. If you are worried about completing everything else you have to do, how can you concentrate on what you are doing now? For example, if you are worried about time, how can you daven with kavana, understanding every word you are saying to the Master of the Universe?

The Angel of Death hovers over us from the moment of birth. As Dovid Hamelech says, “What gain is there in my death, when I descend to the pit? Will the dust acknowledge You? Will it declare Your truth?” (Tehillim 30).In Gan Eden there was no death. Death was introduced into the world only when our first parents rebelled against Hashem.

Pesach is all about freeing ourselves from the Angel of Death. In fact, the Seder ends with these words: “Hakadosh Baruch Hu … the Holy One, Blessed is He, then came and slaughtered the Angel of Death!” (Chad Gadya) During Zman Chairusainu, we are freed from slavery to time.

“Hashem said to Moshe and Aharon in Eretz Mitzraim, saying, ‘This month shall be for you the beginning of the months. It shall be for you the first of the months of the year.” (Shemos 12:1) The Sforno says, “The word ‘lachem … for you,’ appears twice in the verse, to stress a new relationship between Jews and time. As slaves, time belongs to their master, not to them, for they did not have the freedom to act as they pleased when they pleased. But from then on, Jews would be masters of their time and their Master would be Hashem.” (Stone Chumash)

A year is clearly delineated in nature; it is one revolution of the sun. On January first, it returns to where it began. But who said that January first is the beginning of the year? In fact, January first is arbitrary, based on the “birthday” of their avoda zara. Why do we accept January first as the beginning of a year? Additionally, why do we call the days of the week “Sunday … Monday” and so on? Monday is “the day of the moon.” Sunday is “the day of the sun.” This is avoda zara! Why do we use these names?

Only because we are in Golus!

The calendar used in the surrounding society is based only on natural events. If we tie our life to natural phenomena, we will get nowhere. As it says, “ain kol chadash tachas ha shemesh … There is nothing new beneath the sun.” (Koheles 1:9)

During “zman chairusainu,” we are freed from the empty time system based on natural phenomena, whether it is the avoda zara of Mitzraim or of Edom. This is the beginning of our path back to the freedom we enjoyed in Gan Eden, the freedom to serve Hashem without impediment.

How is this accomplished? The Torah commands us to tie the lunar cycle to the solar cycle by attaching the month of Nissan to the Vernal Equinox, the beginning of spring, the day which on which darkness and light are of equal length (each is twelve hours).

This one act liberates us from idolatry. “Children of Man, who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, shackled in affliction and iron. He removed them from darkness … and broke open their shackles!” (Kaparos Erev Yom Kippur/Tehillim 107)

The Torah says, “guard the month of first-ripened produce … for in the month of first-ripened produce Hashem, your G-d, took you out of Mitzraim ….” (Dvarim 16:1) Based on this passage, we understand that Chodesh Nissan must always be the “month of green wheat” (Book of Our Heritage), meaning that it must always fall at a certain stage in the ripening of the wheat. Our entire calendar system is founded on this requirement. (See Rambam Kiddush Hachodesh 4:1) Thus, our calendar is based entirely on Hashem’s commandment that we tie Chodesh Nissan to the spring season.

“At the time of the redemption, the Holy One, blessed is He, changed all the fixed rules of nature. He did this to demonstrate that He is the Creator [and] that everything … is in accordance with His will …. The astrological sign for the month of Nissan is the lamb …. Israel was commanded to take this ‘god’ of the Egyptians and slaughter it.” (Book of Our Heritage)

Is it an accident that Pesach occurs at the season when the “death” of winter ends, when nature itself is “redeemed,” when sap flows once again through the trees and magnificent blossoms appear, about which we say, “Blessed are You, Hashem … Who created … good trees to cause mankind pleasure?” Is it an accident that we were liberated from Mitzraim in this month? Is it an accident that we began our journey to Har Sinai in this month? Is it an accident that the Mishkan – the Makom through which we achieve dvaykus with Hashem – was erected this month?

On the Shabbos before Pesach we read these words: “Behold, I send you Eliyahu Hanovi before the great and awesome day of Hashem. And he shall restore the hearts of fathers with [their] sons and the hearts of sons with their fathers ….” (Malachi 3:23-4)

This is the zman in which time was given to us, so that we may use our days, hours, minutes and seconds to serve Hashem. May He bring the Geulah Shelemah soon in our days!

Ein Od Milvado

LIVING in Eretz Israel is the equivalent of all the Mitzvot of the Torah (Sifri, Parashat Re'eh, TOSEFTA, AVODA ZARA 5:2)

Fortunate is he who merits in his life to FIX HIS RESIDENCE in Eretz HaKodesh (Zohar Hakadosh Iii 72b) and remove from your heart this false belief that a man has more blessings outside the land (Alshich Hakadosh, Ki Tavo 28:6)